Planning routes to save fuel

"Online software will help small businesses survive the recession and cut carbon emissions by 30%"

The AA and business efficiency specialist Postcode Anywhere have unveiled a smart route optimiser for hauliers and couriers which cuts fuel, labour costs and even carbon emissions by over 30%.

The online service, called Route Optimiser, uses sophisticated maths to plan the shortest routes for single vehicles or whole fleets. It even uses the AA's road restriction data to plot routes according to a vehicle's height, weight and width – and should help delivery firms put an end to those familiar "lorry stuck under bridge" headlines.

The part-licence, part pay-as-you-go service is available from £80 per year for single-vehicle couriers, with other options available for fleets. More information and a free trial of Route Optimiser is available through www.routeoptimiser.com.

The AA's Database Development Manager, Jeff Triner, said, "Route Optimiser is powered by the same routeing engine as the one used by the AA Route Planner on www.theaa.com. The AA Route Planner currently serves in excess of four million routes per week allowing users to get routes to and from postcodes, streets and thousands of points of interest. Each route provided by Route Optimiser provides easy to follow directions whilst customers who opt for the Premium service will be able to get optimised routes which avoid height, width and weight restrictions."

Postcode Anywhere's managing director Guy Mucklow said: "This software has, up until now, only been affordable for big-budget businesses with a spare £50,000. With Route Optimiser, small couriers with only one van doing 20 to 30 drops daily can start using it today through their web browser, at a fraction of the cost. No technical expertise or investment is needed and set-up takes only a few clicks.

"I challenge any road haulier or courier to try the software and see the kind of money they're throwing away during every single trip they make without it. Anyone can trial the service for free and I'm confident that if someone puts in a route they already use it won't beat Route Optimiser.

"We hope adoption of this service will give small and medium-sized businesses some protection against the credit crunch and the fluctuating price of petrol."

Route Optimiser's lead developer Richard Geary said: "The green issues are also very powerful. If every UK haulage or courier firm started using this technology we'd see a noticeable drop in carbon emissions – millions and millions of tons of CO2. The government's proposed carbon credit scheme - when businesses will, effectively, be taxed on CO2 emissions – makes it even more sensible to route-optimise."

Factfile

Route Optimiser is developed and hosted by Worcester-based Postcode Anywhere and powered with route data supplied by the AA. Independent trials have shown the service typically reduces journey times, fuel consumption and carbon emissions by 10-30%.